Modi said he doesn't just need the votes of the people of Varanasi but also their cooperation in keeping the city clean.
Talking about the poll results in favour of BJP, he said posters carrying Modi's photos cannot make him “their own” but Mother Ganga has done so.
He lamented that many governments came and went but the cleanliness of the Ganga river remained a distant dream, saying “Mother Ganga is awaiting some son of hers who will accomplish the task to clean the river. There are a number of tasks that God has decided for me...”
Modi thanked people of the holy town saying even though he was silenced by the poll authorities and could not address them during campaigning, he has come here to salute the holy land and also the voters here.
He visited the holy city and offered prayers at famous Kashi Vishwanath temple. After visiting the temple, the Prime Minister elect went to famed Dashashwamedh Ghat and took part in ‘Ganga Aarti' for about half-an-hour amid chanting of ‘shlokas' and blowing of conch shells.
Modi was accompanied by BJP president Rajnath Singh, his close aide Amit Shah and party UP chief Lakshmikant Bajpai.
His coming to the holy city is seen as a gesture of gratitude towards people here who have elected him by a huge margin of over 3 lakh votes.
A huge electronic lotus (artificial lotus) was floated in the middle of the Ganga river. Ganga Arti at Dashashwamedh Ghat attracts huge crowds on a daily basis and there were some restrictions imposed on people visiting the nearby ghats amid tight security arrangements.
